Standing at the front of a dimly lit room in the basement of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Teruko Yahata’s voice broke as she recalled the morning her world changed, on Aug. 6, 1945.
“All of a sudden, the entire sky flashed and was illuminated in bluish-white, as if the heavens had become one huge, fluorescent light,” the 85-year-old, speaking in English, told an audience of British tourists on a recent Tuesday.
“I immediately fell to the ground and lost consciousness.”
Photo: Reuters
Yahata is a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on the city of Hiroshima by the US. The bomb killed tens of thousands instantly; scores more suffered long-lasting injuries.
While talks by hibakusha have become a regular feature of the city’s memorial sites, Yahata stands out for her presentations in English.
Yahata, who was eight when she witnessed the nuclear destruction of her hometown, started traveling the world in 2013 to tell her story through an interpreter, but felt the experience lacking.
Photo: Reuters
“I had this vague dream of learning English so that I would be able to communicate in my own words, in my own voice, the dreadful power of that horrific atomic bomb and bring to life my own experience of that tragic, miserable scene, and sorrow,” she said, speaking in Japanese.
Resolving to learn English, she began taking classes at the YMCA as she headed into her 80s, and by 2021, was giving her presentations exclusively in English.
Yahata’s presentation is from a script translated by her English teacher, which she rehearses by reading along to a recording made by a native speaker. The script is covered in notes and prompts on correct pronunciation and intonation.
Yahata’s English ability is mostly limited to reading the script, but the impact of her spoken words on the audience is undeniable, moving some to tears.
“It feels very real still, when she speaks; she brings it like it’s happening today. She makes you feel that way,” said Briton Denise Hickson, visiting from Bristol.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is hosting the G7 summit in Hiroshima, his home constituency, starting on Friday. He is expected to give his guests a tour of the peace memorial and have them meet with atomic bomb survivors, as part of his efforts to convey a vision for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Although that vision seems more distant now with Russia threatening to resume nuclear tests and neighboring North Korea developing its own nuclear arsenal, Yahata’s expectations for G7 leaders are lofty.
“I want the G7 leaders to bring with them the vision of abolishing nuclear weapons,” she said. “I don’t want them to just talk about ideals or release a written resolution. I want them to take the first concrete step.”
The arithmetic is straightforward and uncomfortable. By the end of 2025, Taiwan had committed itself to a 50-30-20 electricity mix — half natural gas, 30 per cent coal, 20 per cent renewables. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’s (MOEA) own monthly energy reports tell a different story. Natural gas reached 47.8 per cent of generation last year. Coal stood at 35.4 per cent, comfortably above its target ceiling. Renewables came in at 13.1 per cent, well short of the 20 per cent Taipei had pledged a decade earlier. Installed renewable capacity reached roughly half of the 12 gigawatts (GW) the government
There are shadowy cabals plotting to sell out Taiwan to be annexed by China, by invasion if necessary. Fortunately, they are buffoons. In 2019, former Bamboo Union gangster and founder of the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), Chang An-le (張安樂, colorfully known as “White Wolf”), led a protest at the Legislative Yuan against comments made by then-premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) that in the event of an attack by China, he would never surrender, but would protect the nation by fighting to the end, even if he only had a broom. Chang had party members bring a wooden casket that they
Taiwan’s drone exports are taking off, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, as Taiwanese companies seek a stake in the fast-growing global market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Low-cost drones used for reconnaissance and strikes are in high demand as governments around the world boost defense spending in the face of intensifying conflicts. A relative new player in the increasingly competitive industry, Taiwan’s pitch is to be an “Asian hub” for the production of UAVs and components free of Chinese materials, or “non-red.” That means its UAVs can be up to three times more expensive than their Chinese competitors, like the world’s biggest
June 1 to June 7 "If all Taiwanese were as afraid of dying as you, then what would happen?” Physician Shih Chiang-nan (施江南) reportedly said this to his wife Chen Chiao-tung (陳焦桐) after she urged him to stop intervening on behalf of Taiwanese soldiers stranded overseas after serving in the Japanese Army during World War II. Shih had clashed with high-ranking officials over the issue, engaged in several heated arguments with Taiwan governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) and allegedly shouted at general Ko Yuan-fen (柯遠芬), chief of staff of the Taiwan Garrison Command, over
RSS